Syria rejects report of systematic torture, killing

Beirut: Syria on Wednesday rejected a report purporting to show the systematic torture and killing of about 11,000 detainees, calling it an attempt to undermine peace efforts as diplomats gathered in Switzerland for talks.

The 31-page report released on Monday contains 55,000 images of emaciated and mutilated corpses. Bearing signs of torture, some of the corpses had no eyes. Others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution.

The images were supplied by a Syrian military defector who had worked as a military police photographer for 13 years. His identity has not been released to the media.

Former war crimes prosecutors who authored the report said Syrian officials could face war crimes charges as a result of the evidence, which they said evoked images of Nazi death camps. But Syria's Ministry of Justice said the report was "politicized" and "lacking objectivity and professionalism".

"Releasing the report one day before the 'Geneva II' conference provides categorical evidence that its goal is to undermine efforts aimed at achieving peace in Syria," the Ministry said in a statement carried on Syrian state television.

The broadcast went out while Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Jarba was speaking at the opening day of the "Geneva II" peace conference in Switzerland.

Syria's civil war began with peaceful protests against 40 years of rule by the family of President Bashar al-Assad and has descended into a sectarian conflict, with the opposing sides armed and funded by Sunni Arab states and Shiite Iran.